By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
Additional COVID funding could help provide transportation and assessment of Wood County residents experiencing COVID-type symptoms and lead to earlier treatment.
At Thursday’s Wood County Board of Health meeting, Health Commissioner Ben Robison reported funding was recently approved that can be used to support countywide transportation services, including the possible purchase of a mobile unit, for timely assessment and mitigation of the disease.
“This is really exciting news,” Robison said. “This is intended to provide transportation services throughout the county to support evaluation for symptoms that could be COVID.”
Even if the test results determine the person does not have COVID, the grant will still cover the services.
“Lots of diseases look like COVID, but if the person tests positive for other diseases like the flu, that’s okay. This allows us to begin to get our arms around the breadth of emerging healthcare issues and offer treatment earlier in the course of the disease,” he added.
“We were never able to execute the transportation services before. We got approval through conversations that these were allowable costs, so we submitted our budget for revision, but it took some time and a change in guidelines at the federal level to get the approval,” Robison explained.
Before the board can move forward, county prosecutor approval is needed, but pending the approval, the board will likely be asked to authorize spending requests in January to meet the Dec. 31, 2024, deadline.
Board member Cathleen Nelson questioned if there is a demand for the service given the public’s apparent laissez-faire attitude about COVID.
“That’s an open question whether folks are reducing their concerns about COVID specifically, but the timing is good to get it up and running before the surge.”
The health department will be monitoring the outcomes, but the service will allow the health department to get people connected to treatment earlier whether it is Paxlovid, Tamiflu or antibiotics, Robison said.
He also noted that many EMS providers have indicated they are regularly doing these types of runs, which means that individuals are paying for a higher level of care than needed if they take an ambulance.
The grant includes funds for promotion. As soon as approval is final the department will move quickly to get the word out. The hope is that once people are seen in their community and they are exposed to the health department’s services, they choose the health department for their needs.
The service could also be a “proof of concept“ that satellite services are needed, said board member Bob Midden.
“The service will be valuable for the community, and it makes our system more streamlined,” Robison said.
Health center urged to communicate mental health service plans
The Wood County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board has a vested interest in the health center’s plans to enhance its mental health services.
WCADAMHS Board President Frank McLaughlin asked the board and the Federally Qualified Health Center to keep communications open about plans for ramping up mental health services.
“The ADAMHS board has a vested interest in knowing what’s going on. The whole point of the board is to determine the need for mental health and substance abuse services in the county,” McLaughlin said.
The health center’s plan to hire a psychiatrist “is a big deal, especially since some of our contracting agencies have trouble doing that,” he said. “It’s a very positive thing for those we jointly serve. I just want to make sure that we remain communicating about what’s going on. It’s important that we stay in the loop about what you are doing.”
He said that Wood County agencies work well together to get things done. The joint efforts are good for the consumers and the taxpayers.
Jerry Landers, interim CEO of the health center, outlined a pharmacy program that could help cover costs for increasing behavioral health staff at the health center.
Expansion of a drug-pricing program could initially provide revenues of $55,000 to $65,000 a year. The federal program allows certain entities, such as FQHC’s to purchase pharmaceuticals at a greatly discounted rate but continue to sell them at market rates. The profit margin could then be used to benefit the mission of the health center, Landers explained.
“We currently do that here with our in-house pharmacy. We benefit the community. We assist with about 4,000 prescriptions a year by discounting part of the cost. The earnings go in to support the rest of our mission,” he said.
The enhanced program would allow the health center to extend that option outside of its in-house pharmacy. Approximately 35% of the prescriptions are handled at the in-house pharmacy, and the remaining 65% are handled at other pharmacies.
“Some of the pharmacies, like Walmart, have enough prescriptions that it makes sense for us to contract with them to do the same thing that we do in-house,” he said.
Because it is a complex process, a third-party vendor handles the administration of the program. Pending approval by the county prosecutor, the board agreed to enter into a contract with Nuvem as the third-party administrator.
“It is a winner’s contract, meaning the net revenue will exceed the expenses or zero cost. There will be money going back and forth, where we buy pharmaceuticals and sell pharmaceuticals,” Landers said. “The estimated $55,000 to $65,000 a year is enough for us to pay for a position.”
Once a psychiatrist is hired, the health center will have expanded prescription writing capabilities.
“This is the first step of positioning ourselves to pay for those positions., and it doesn’t change the population that we serve,” he added.
The board also approved a contract with Ashley Vetter Design to execute a digital media campaign for the promotion of the health Center’s services for reproductive health and wellness program. The media campaign will run from Jan. 1 to March 31 for a cost not to exceed $9,740. The project will be paid for using the reproductive health grant funds for advertising and outreach.
A similar campaign in 2022 reached its goal of increasing reproductive health visits by 33% compared to the same period in 2021. Cathleen Nelson, board vice president, asked if there have been any promotional efforts for the dentistry program. Health Commissioner Ben Robison said nothing has been done recently, but they are in the process of building the budget for next year and looking at options for promoting other health center and health department programs.
The board agreed to add a personnel and compliance officer position to the health department. Once hired, the position will report to the deputy health commissioner. The position will be paid at grade 15, which is currently between $68,016 and $95,201.
In other business at the board of health meeting:
- The board approved an increase in the Medicare G code and CCM rates to maximize reimbursement from the payer.
- A home sewage treatment system variance for 1711 Fostoria Road was granted.
- The board accepted the resignation of Julie Kauffman, human resources coordinator, who has worked at the health department since 1996.
- A $6,850 payment was approved to Main & Sons as the sewage contractor for repairing and replacing a homeowners’ sewage system under the 2023 Water Pollution Control Loan Fund.
- Robison reported that an award has been approved for the building project on the county commissioners’ side. There may be a contract ready for approval at the Board of Health’s year-end meeting on Dec. 29 at 5 p.m.
- A budget of up to $5,000 was approved to support promoting the health center’s CEO position vacancy on relevant job boards to attract viable candidates to the search.
- Nilgun Sezginis will begin her two-year term as president starting in 2024, and DJ Mears will serve as vice president.
